Event news
August 16 – Lorriane C. Ladish “Writing in Style”
September 20 - Carol Mahler - "Devil's in the Details"
November 6-9 Sanibel Island Writers Conference, registration form (PDF)
January 31, 2009 GCWA writing contest (open to public) See Guidelines and Entry Form (PDF)
Lorriane C. Ladish “Writing in Style” contact lcladish@yahoo.com
“Writing in Style”
- Despite the fact that there are many published books filled with ready-made phrases, trite expressions and clichés (“laughed in glee”, “it rained cats and dogs”, “needless to say”, etc.) it’s better to avoid them. When a word is overused (such as “awesome”, “cool” or “nice”), it looses its meaning.
- We all have our favorite words. Try this: take your text and replace a certain word that you think you tend to repeat. How many times did your word processor replace the word? That will give you an idea of your tendency to overuse it!
- Write without giving it much thought, to avoid writer’s block, but when rewriting, hack away and tighten your sentences until they are straightforward and clear. With practice, you will write tight from the very beginning and editing will become easier.
- Why you absolutely need a Thesaurus to learn new words and expressions. How to make them a part of your everyday conversations and the material you write. We never stop learning language.
- Make sure you know the meaning of the words you use. When in doubt, look it up. Most people, to include writers, do not use dictionaries as much as they should.
- Sometimes clichés and overused words do have a purpose, such as to convey a character’s personality or a particular atmosphere.
- Written dialogue is not the same as spoken dialogue. Making it sound realistic.
Tom DeMarchi from the Sanibel Island Writers Conference wrote:
I wanted to give you first crack at our early bird special. The regular cost is $350, but if you sign up between now and July 31 it's $300. I've attached the registration form (PDF).
Here's this year's lineup:
Lynne Barrett (fiction)
Eve Bridburg (literary agent)
Jim Brock (poetry)
Ron Carlson (young adult fiction)
Camille Cline (editor)
John Dufresne (fiction)
Beth Ann Fennelly (poetry)
William Giraldi (Writing About Grief)
Stephanie Elizondo Griest (travel memoir)
Jeanne Leiby (Editor)
John McNally (screenwriting)
Leonard Nash (fiction)
Sena Jeter Naslund (keynote address)
Neal Pollack (Comic Memoir)
John K. Samson (founder of the band The Weakerthans and owner of Arbeiter Ring Books -- teaching songwriting and lyrics-as-poetry,
A panel on publishing
Christopher Schelling (literary agent)
Michael Steinberg (creative nonfiction/memoir)
Ian Vasquez (thriller/crime fiction)
I think we've struck a terrific balance of returning and new authors, agents and editors, and we hope to be adding a couple of more new names soon Also, if any of you teach (or are a student) at the university level, we've created a three-credit course for the conference, inventively titled "Sanibel Island Writers Conference." It's a 4000-level Special Topics class, and the credits are transferable, of course. As of today we've filled 36 of the 50 available seats. If you know of any students who might be interested, could you please pass along the announcement.
We're scheduled November 6-9, at BIG ARTS.
Our home page is www.fgcu.edu/siwc. You'll notice that it still features last year's presenters, but our webmaster swears it'll be fully updated later this week.
Finally, many of you published authors have inquired about selling your books at the conference. If you want to sell anything at our book table, let me know in advance so I can make the arrangements. Feel free to e-mail or call with any questions. Thanks for spreading the word! I hope to see you in November!
Thanks so much,
Tom DeMarchi
239-590-7421
tdemarch@fgcu.edu
Carol Mahler
“The Devil’s in the Details”
I. Introduction
A. Origin of proverb
B. Meaning
II. Details: Small But Important
A. Quality
1. General or specific; 2. Redundant 3;. Parts of speech
B. Quantity. Too many; 2. Too few
III. Writing Details: Takes Time, Saves Work
A. Setting :1. Place ;2. Time; 3. Mood
B. Character. Name. Description. Action. Dialogue
C. Images. Simile and metaphors. Figurative language. Symbols
D. Allusions
IV. Details In the Deal:
A. Contract with the Reader
B. Form. “Received”;2. “Organic”;
C. Subject. Fact; 2. Fantasy
V. Conclusion